Ralph gbegoby



R. GREGURY.

0|L WELL PUMP.

APPLICATIQN man 1AN.20.1919.

Patented Mar. 2, i920.

I'VENTOR. W

f TTORNEY.

lalllififl ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH GREGORY, oF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, Assienon To oIL WELLRECLAMATIQN OIL-WELL PUMP.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, i920.

Application led January 20, 1919. Serial No. 272,151.

To all I'to/tom t may concern.'

Be it. known that I, RALPH GREGORY, a citizen ot the United States,residing at .Kansas City, in the county of Jackson' and State olMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil-WellPumps, of which the following is a` specilication.

This invention relates to oil well pumps of that class employing liuidunder pressure, i. c., a fluid piston, for eecting the elevation anddischarge of the oil from the well, and the special object is to-produce a `pump having a barrel made up of sections to accommodate itto well casing of any length, means to provide a luid-tight chamberbetween the casing and barrel, extending from above tl le level of theoil to a plane near the lower end of the casing, a check-'valve to admitoil to the fluid-tight chamber' and retain part of it therein in theinterim between discharges of oil 'loy the pump and a compressed airpipe for Supplying pressure upon the oil in the air-tight chamber toeffect the discharge of moet oi' the oil therefrom.

A further object is to produce an oil lwell pum-p ot' the character setforth which performs its function efficiently, is strong and durable andis comparatively inexpensive of construction.

Vith these objects in view the invention consists of certain novel anduseful features of construction and organization of parts as hereinafterdescribed and claimedg'and in order that it maybe fully understood,reference is to be had to the accompanying dra-wing, in which:

Figure 1, is a central vertical Section of an oil well pump constructedin accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2, is a horizontal Section on the line II-II of Fig. `1.

Fig. il, is a horizontal section on the line III-Ill of Fig. 1. i

Fig. 4, is a horizontal section on the line IV-IV of Fig. l.

In carrying out the saidv invention. the well casing 1 constitutes theshell of the pump, and secured in said casing or shell, preferably nearthe lower end of the same is a valve casing 2 provided with devices forpreventing rotative movement of the valve casing within the shell orcasing 1, the means threaded lower end of the pump barrel 9 which barrelis provided at a relatively short distance above the valve casing with aplurality or' perforations 10.

11 is a nut secured on the lower end of the barrel within the upper partof the chanrber of the valve casing, to avoid chance detachment of thebarrel from the casing. Mounted loosely on the `barrel is a. packingdisk 12, preferably of lead and provided at its periphery with a.depending V shaped flange or fin 13 adapted for engagement with theupper end of the valve casing where the same is rounded, so that whensuiiicient pressure is brought to bear on the packing disk, the

flange or fin shall be spread or expanded and form a. fluid-tight jointbetween the valve casing and the shell of the pum-p.

Secured upon the barrel of the pump between the perforations 10 thereofand the packing disk 1'2, is an inverted conical wedge 14 for engagingthe inner ledges of a series of roughened or toothed gripping jaws 15`fitting Inova-bly in vertical slots 16 in a cylindrical cup 17 screwedat its lower end upon the pump barrel and adapted for applying thepressure hereinbeifore inentioned, upon the packing disk to expand orspread the liange thereof, it being noticed that the gripping jaws 15are provided at their upper ends with upstanding stops 18 and at `theirlower ends with depending sto s 19, lfor guarding against any possi- Isobility of the wedge 14 forcing the said jaws completely through theslots 16 of the cu (17 ecured upon the upper end of the barrel 9preferably at or near the level of the oil Within the well, is acylindrical coupling 20 vprovided at its lower end with a chamber 21 incommunication with said barrel, and

with the lower end of the discharge pipe 22 of the pump, said dischargepipe bemg screwed at its lower end to and within the coupling andextending up through the chamber 23 thereof to a point exterior to thewell, as customary. The coupling is provided at the upper end of chamber23 with an internal socket 24 for the reception of a nut 25 secured uponthe dischar e pipe, and

lthe upper end of the coupling li e the valve casing 2, is rounded forthe spreading or expansion of the depending annular flange or n 27 of acompressible packing disk 26 of lead or the like, said packing diskfitting loosely on discharge pipe 22 below a collar 28 rigidly securedon said pipe, and adapted for applyingl downward pressure upon thepacking disk to cause the same to spread or expand the flange or fin ofthe same and Seal the joint between the coupling and the shell of thepump.

At or near the level of the oil in the pump, the coupling is providedwith a cross tube 29, the passage thereof communicatin with the spacebetween the barrel and she of the pump, and at the lower end of avertical tube 31 for supplying compressed fluid, for eectimlr thedischarge of oil from the pump; sai tube extending down through thedischarge pipe 22 and belng screwed at its lower end in a threadedopening in the cross tube of the said coupling. A check valve 32 isprovided in the barrel just above the perforations 10 to prevent'ollstanding above the said valvel from seeklng its natural level when thea1r pressure 1s cut of.

In assembling this pump the cup 17 1s first placed on the lower end ofthe pump barrel. The packing disk 12 is then slipped on said barrel frombelow the cup, and then the valve casing is screwed upon the lower endof the barrel and into the nut 11 fitted in said casing through thelower end of the same. The ball valve is then secured there- .in by thefitting of the ring 4 in place.

The gripping jaws 15 are then fitted 1n the cup and the wedge 14 sllppeddown upon the barrel and within the cup and secured ri' 'dly to theformer.

'he coupling 20 is then screwed upon the upper end of the barrel, andthe discharge pipe 22, equipped with the collar 25, 1s slipped down intothe couplmg and screwed at its lower end to the latter as shown, theupper end of the coupling being removable to permit of the insertion ofthe collar. The packing disk 26 is then slipped down upon the pi ey 22,and the clam mg collar 28 1s secur upon said pipe. he air tube 1s thenfitted down through the discharge tube and screwed to the coupling asshown.

As will be understood the distance between the cup 17, which willpreferably be near the lower end of the casing, and the the collar 25 isfitted in the socket 24. While holding the parts elevated, power isapplied to turn pipe 22 and hence barrel 9, to screw the latter downwardin the valve casing,- which as stated is prevented from rotation by thefastening devices 3,-to cause the cu 17 to move downward upon and applysu ficient pressure on the disk 12 to cause the same to seal the jointbetween the valve casing and the shell, further rotation of the barrelthen causing the wedge 14 to force the jaws 15 outward against the shelland thus guard against upward movement of the cup and the consequentunsealing of said joint. The discharge pipe is then lowered to disposethe collar 28 close to the packing disk 26 and the lower end of saidpipe in engagement with the internally threaded portion of the coupling20, and then the .pipe is turned to screw it into the said threadedportion of the coupling and incidentally cause the collar 28 to applydownward clamping pressure upon the disk 26 ,and thus expand the same asexplained, and

seal the joint between the upper side of the couplin and the shell orcasing 1.

It wi l thus be seen that a sealed chamber is provided within the shell1 extending from one sealing disk to the other, and that said distancewill be determined according to the head of oil, with the disk 26preferably slightly above the level of the oil so that when compressedair is supplied through the pipe 31and passing through passage 30 toexert pressure on the column lof oil in theshell, butlittle ywaste spacefor .the admission of air will be provided. It .will be apparent thatwhen there is no pressure on the oil the latter will seek its levelwithin the shelland barrel, raising the valve 5 and passing up into thebarrel and thence through the perforations 10 into the shell between thesealed points thereof. When the compressed air is supplied but littlepressure will be required at first to start the elevation o f the oil,through `the barrel, chamber 21 of the coupling and the discharge pipe22, the pressure required increasing as the oil level in the shell islowered.

yWhen said level nearly reaches the perfoof oil being increased by thiscourse, not only because the oil will attain its natural level morequickly but also because the lack ot' atmospheric pressure resistancewill result in the oil rising to a higher than natural level. Allsucceeding operations will be repetitions of those described.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that 1 have produced a pumputilizing the gravitation force of the column of oil ot equal height toa second column of oil to aid in the discharge of the latter, and inwhich a vacuum may be produced :t'or increasingr and cheapeningproduction, and while l have illustrated and described the preferredconstruction, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to makeall changes ialling Within the principle oit construction and mode cioperation involved and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The structure of the air supply pipe passingI through the dischargelpipe and the coupling uniting the barrel, discharge and air pipes,disclosed but not claimed herein, is claimed in combination with thebarrel, casing and valves in a patent issued to me October 7th, 1919,No, 1,317,921, the application lor which patent was copending with thepresent application.

I claim:

1. A pump comprising a shell extending down into a body of liquid suchas oil in a well, a barrel in the shell, having a fluidtight connectionwith the shell and in comn'iunicat'ion at a higher point therewith, acheck valve adapted when unopposed to permit oil to pass upward into thebarrel from a point below the fluid-tight connection, a discharge pipecommunicating with the barrel above the higher point of communicationtherewith of the said shell and having a fluid-tight connection with theshell, and means ior supplying fluid under pressure to the shell uponoil standing therein to force rqiwarifl from the discharge pipe oilstanding in the barrel from above the point of communication thereofwith the shell or for enabling fluid under pressure to escape from thatportion of the shell between the points where the same. is influid-tight connection with the barrel and the discharge pipe.

2. A pump comprising a shell extending down into a body of liquid suchas oil in a. well, a, barrel in the shell and in communication at ahigher point therewith. a check yah-9, m'lupted when unopposed to permitoil to pass upward into the barrel from a point below the {luid-tightconnection, a discharge pipe cranmunicating with the barrel above thesaid higher point of communication therewith oit the said barrel andhaving a fluid-tight connection with the shell, and a tube extendingthrough the discharge pipe and communicating with the shell between thepoints where it has fluid-tight connections with the said discharge pipeand the said barrel.

3. A pump comprising a shell extending down into a body of liquid suchas oil in a well, a check valve within and having a Huid-tightconnection with the lower end of the shell and adapted to open whenunopposed, a barrel within the shell and communicating at its lowerendwith the valve chamber, and provided with a perforation establishingcommunication with the shell above the point where the same hasyfluidtight connection with the valve casing, a discharge pipecommunicating' with the barrel above the higher point of communicationtherewith of the said shell and having a fluid-tight connection with theshell, and means ior supplying fluid under pressure to the shell uponoil standing therein to `force upward from the discharge pipev oilstanding in the barrel from above the point of communication thereofwith the shell or 'for enabling fluid under pressure to escape from thatportion of the shell between the points where the same is in fluidtightconnection with the barrel and the discharge pipe.

lf. A pump comprising a. shell extending down into a body of liquid suchas oil in a well, a check valve within and having a fluid-tightconnection with the lower end oi the shell and adapted t0 open whenunopposed, a barrel within the shell and communicating at its lower endwith the valve chamber, and provided with a perforation establishingcommunication with the shell above the point where the same hasfluidtighit connection with the valve casing, a discharge pipecommunicating with the barrel above the higher point of communicationtherewith of the said barrel and having a fluid-tight connection withthe shell, and a tube extending through the discharge pipe andcommunicating with the shell between the points where it has fluid-tightconnections with the said discharge pipe and the said barrel.

5. A pump comprising a shell extending down into a body of liquid suchas oil in a well, a barrel in the shell, having a fluidtight connectionwith the shell and in communication at a. higher pointI therewith, acheck valve adapted when unopposed to permit oil to pass upward into thebarrel from a point below the fluid-'tight connection, a discharge pipein the shell, a coupling connecting the discharge pipe and barrel andhaving a. fluid-.tight connection with the shell, and means torsupplying fluid under i tween the points where the same is in fluidtightconnection with the barrel and the discharge pipe.

6. A pump comprising a shell extending down into a body of liquid suchas oil in a well, a barrel in the shell, having a fluidtight connectionwith the shell and in communication at a higher point therewith, a checkvalve adapted when unopposed to permit oil to pass upward into thebarrel from a point below the fluid-tight connection, a discharge pipein the shell, a coupling connecting the discharge pipe and barrel andhaving a fluid-tight connection with the shell, and a tube extendingthrough the discharge pipe and communicating with the shell between thepoints where it has iuidtight connections with the said discharge pipeand the said barrel.

In a pump, a shell extending downward into a body of liquid, a checkvalve secured non-rotatably to the shell and a valve normally closingcommunication between the casing and the lower part of the shell, abarrel in communication with the chamber of the valve and incommunication with the shell at a higher point than the point ofcommunication of the former with the said casing, a compressible diskaround the barrel above the casing, and means to clamp the disk uponsaid casing and against said shell to seal the joint between them.

8. In a pump, a shell extending downward into a body of liquid, a checkvalve secured non-rotatably to the shell and a valve normally closingcommunication between the casing and the lower part of the shell, abarrel in communication with the chamber of the valve and incommunication with the shell at a higher point than the point ofcommunication of the former with the said casing, a compressible diskaround the barrel above the casing, and means actuated by rotation ofsaid barrel to cause said disk to seal the joint between said casing andthe shell.

9. In a pum a shell extending downward into a y of liquid, a check valvein the shell com rising a casing non-rotatably arranged in the shell anda valve normally closing communication between the casing and the lowerpart of the shell, a barrel bearing a threaded relation to said casingand communicating with the chamber thereof, a slot-ted cufp fitting inthe shell and having an aperture in its bottom through which the barrelextends, a compressible washer fitting around the barrel between the cupand casing, and adapted when the barrel is turned to effect approachingmovement between rthe cup and casing, to be compressed and caused toseal the joint between the shell and casing, 'pping jawl fitted in theslotted cu an a wedge secured to the barrel an adapted when the latteris screwed downward, to engage and force said jaws outwardly intogripping engagement with said shell.

In testimony whereof I aix m si ature.

RALPH GR G RY.

